August 2011 reading thread

[reiver]

Read Prince of Thorns right after finishing ADWD. What a massive difference in style of writing! Lawrence managed to have a lot happen, build an intriguing world, fill it with interesting characters and conflicts then tie it up in a satisfying conclusion that finished that arc but left me panting for the next book. All in the space of what, if formatted the same, amounts to about 100 pages of ADWD.

Also just finished Sunne in Splendour which was very good. I got a lot of enjoyment out of spotting the GRRM influences (which were much clearer from the book than the history) but also from the wonderful character driven story. Unfortunately it fell down a bit around the Princes in the Tower event where the author over did her argumentation for her conclusion on what had happened. The speeches and thoughts in the characters heads began to feel like the authors mouthpieces and lost a lot of the character voice. The way it was put forward just didn't seem natural and would have been better developed in the afterword.

[Switchback]

Finished Forbidden Knowledge, number 2 in Donaldson's Gap books. I'd read The Real Story a while ago and was rather indifferent to it, which bothered me a bit since i know without an inkling of doubt that Donaldson is a genius. But The Real Story was.... weird? And not in the normal good kind of Donaldson weird. So I wasn't in much rush to try number 2, even though I'd heard how much better the series got.

Well shit, wish I would have read this sooner. That book was utterly brilliant. Immediately bought A Dark and Hungry God Arises and churned through the first few chapters of that (kindle = greatest thing ever created on earth). I'm not even that big of a scifi fan, but this is great stuff. The Amnion are so far the perfect amount of creepy, and the ending took me by surprise.

Also, to pile on a bit with the kindle love, this device was made for reading things by Donaldson. On board dictionary comes in handy.

[nickg]

Finished Forbidden Knowledge, number 2 in Donaldson's Gap books. I'd read The Real Story a while ago and was rather indifferent to it, which bothered me a bit since i know without an inkling of doubt that Donaldson is a genius. But The Real Story was.... weird? And not in the normal good kind of Donaldson weird. So I wasn't in much rush to try number 2, even though I'd heard how much better the series got.

Well shit, wish I would have read this sooner. That book was utterly brilliant. Immediately bought A Dark and Hungry God Arises and churned through the first few chapters of that (kindle = greatest thing ever created on earth). I'm not even that big of a scifi fan, but this is great stuff. The Amnion are so far the perfect amount of creepy, and the ending took me by surprise.

Also, to pile on a bit with the kindle love, this device was made for reading things by Donaldson. On board dictionary comes in handy.

I felt the same way after reading The Real Story. I might have liked it a bit more than you seemed to, but was still disappointed with it. The second book hooked me though, and the series is one of my favorites.

I'd have to agree about the kindle. I haven't been too much of an eBook fan ( still prefer having physical copies ) but having a kindle app on my phone, coupled with a screen large enough to enjoy movies, let alone comfortably read a book, has pulled me over to " the dark side ". The fact that I dont have to drive, and can get what I want pretty much instantly is extremely appealing.

[Larry.]

I just finished reading/reviewing Snooki in Wonderland: The Improved Classic. It is something else, to say the least.

[Jojen]

In the middle of reading The Red Temple by Rick Riordan. Never read him before, never had much cause to, but a friend loaned it to me for light summer reading. It's definitely that, but also quite entertaining.

[SkynJay]

In the middle of reading The Red Temple by Rick Riordan. Never read him before, never had much cause to, but a friend loaned it to me for light summer reading. It's definitely that, but also quite entertaining.

I tried the Percy Jackson series, and see him as a great idea man, but not muck of a writter. Has he improved wirh the new series?

[Jojen]

I tried the Percy Jackson series, and see him as a great idea man, but not muck of a writter. Has he improved wirh the new series?

Having not read that series, I can't compare it with the new one. However, I'd agree that the Red Temple is strong on ideas, but the writing is so-so. I've seen better, but I've also seen worse.

[Contrarius]

Lessee....currently, I am re-listening-to The Steel Remains, which so far is holding up very well. I'm also re-listening-to Ghost Story in bits and pieces. And I'm about 80 pages into reading The Darkness That Comes Before (Prince of Nothing vol 1). Not sure how I feel about that one yet....waaaaay too many confusing names so far, and I'm trying to make allowances for world-building.

[Mjolnir]

Finished Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Files novel Ghost Story. Couldn't put it down, of course, and thought it was good, also of course. Lots of magical hijinx and battles to the death with dastardly foes and things exploding as usual, but this is a more contemplative book, or rather it's a book about a more contemplative Harry. So there's perhaps more space devoted to Harry thinking thinky thoughts than has been customary up to this point. This is done well, I think, and the logic for it is certainly solid --

Harry's a ghost, so he can't just bust shit up and has to think about situations more intensely.

Butcher's got no problem whatsoever with inserting uncertainties of motivation or characterization into his stories, but when it does come time to talk about a person's psychs or the morality of a situation he has never been a less is more writer. The book is pacey, but explanations of things, not necissarily physical things but motivation and thought process and stuff, tend to be exacting when they do appear, and digression isn't unknown --Harry particularly likes making dead jokes in this one. The uptick in this sort of thing goes along pretty well with the shifts in Harry's personality, I think, and it didn't bug me too much, but I definitely noticed. The exacting care to make sure the audience knows what's going on in the character's headspace, combined with an otherwise pacey magical thriller narrative, reminds me more of Seanan McGuire's Toby books than Butcher has previously.

The rest of my likes and dislikes are spoilers.

I love the Dresden Files for several reasons, but one of the big reasons I ride this bus is for the excellent cast of recurring characters, and so I definitely missed some of the people we don't see here. But absences were made up for by expanded roles for people like Butters -- who is awesome, especially now -- and Bob, who had better be okay [this is actually left somewhat ambiguous.] I got drawn right in to this new, wartorn version of supernatural Chicago which the fall of the Red Court and Harry's death has created, ... and so was mildly disappointed by how completely the fight against the Corpsetaker took over the book. I can see kind of why it had to be that way -- she's a good opponent for Harry in his current state, and highlights the ghosty side of the situation nicely -- I just don't find her that compelling as a villain, and in the grand scheme of things she felt like a sideshow [because even sideshows are apocalyptic bad-asses in this story.] But Corpsetaker's presence as the main bad allows for the spectacular scenes inside Mollie's mindscape at the end, and that makes the sacrifices to the long-term arc more than worth it, because those scenes were some of my favourites in the book, and series highlights in a book that otherwise probably lands somewhere in the upper middle of my personal Dresden preference index. Mollie's arc in this book in general made for some of the very best scenes, and she several times stole the show out from under Harry and the other excellent characters sharing the stage with her. I thought the resolution to the murder mystery was maybe a bit of a cheat, since I don't think it was solvable based on the information we had, but it was a very Dresden thing to do and I like it for that reason. I also liked -- even though it was somewhat sad -- that for the moment Harry's friends are unaware that he has truly returned from the dead, albeit on Mab's business. Can't wait for the next one, which promises yet more major changes.

Now reading Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck's [James S. A. Cory's] Leviathan Wakes. Enjoying it so far. As I mentioned in my despair upthread I finished Dance the other day, and since the dedicated forum is more about discussing what actually happens, which I don't have the fanstrength or qualifications for, rather than personal reaction, I may drop some thoughts in here once August 12 has passed us by, if only to work out my reaction to the book for myself.

[Jojen]

Has anyone read Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn? I read them a few years ago and really enjoyed them, but I haven't read the second series. I find it similar to ASOIAF in that they both have a strong sense of realism to them.

[Datepalm]

Mjolnir (et all.) - Please don't run screaming from the obsessive fanwank of the ADWD forum (besides, one must get started somehow. Come to the dark side.) I seem to recall a few threads in there for reflections and themes and the like. Somewhere. In short, we have cookies.

Finished Equations of Life, which, yeah, trundles along nicely in an orgy of creatively cinematic violence with some decent background and a few nice character touches (though I notice the Matthew Swift Sympathy Method at work, where a powerful and somewhat cold/aloof character is made sympathetic by dint of being constantly and escalatingly physically battered) . Excellent action read, if that's your cup of tea, a bit weaker but still pretty damn good if it's not so much.

Finally finished Joanna Russ' We Who Are About to. Utterly bleak and in some ways a little dull, but still ultimately quite powerful. A lot of questions raised with no answers all tangled up with a narrator who's unreliability is completely up in the air.

Started Sophia McDougals Romanitas, enjoying it so far - well written and well conceived, and I like the characters. Also Postwar - a history of Europe since, well, the war. (I'm trying to find vaugely 'european' stuff to read.) Since it has to start with the aftermath of WW2, it's basically really grim so far.

[Arthmail]

Read Prince of Thorns right after finishing ADWD. What a massive difference in style of writing! Lawrence managed to have a lot happen, build an intriguing world, fill it with interesting characters and conflicts then tie it up in a satisfying conclusion that finished that arc but left me panting for the next book. All in the space of what, if formatted the same, amounts to about 100 pages of ADWD.

Having just finished ADWD, i'm having a brutal time finishing Prince of Thorns. So far, at 125 pages, i feel that next to nothing has happened. The main character is a sociopath so that leaves me mostly disinterested in his fate, and the minimalist style leaves me feeling cold. I love Glen Cook, i can handle minimalist, but something here drives me nuts. And the names...fuck the names...I...I don't want to talk about it anymore. I know the author has joined the forum and i don't want to rage out in his presence. I'll keep slogging, but if this keeps up, i have no fucking clue why you are panting for the next book.

[Starkess]

Started Sophia McDougals Romanitas, enjoying it so far - well written and well conceived, and I like the characters. Also Postwar - a history of Europe since, well, the war. (I'm trying to find vaugely 'european' stuff to read.) Since it has to start with the aftermath of WW2, it's basically really grim so far.

Really? I didn't enjoy it too much. It had potential, but the alternate universe just didn't make enough sense for me. It seemed more like "Ooh, Romans were cool! What if they were still around?!" without enough thought about the implications of that.

[RedEyedGhost]

Well, some of it, that newest dualogy is one of the worse things I've read. Ever. It's like .....I can;t even describe it.

I don't think even Karen Miller structures her sentences this poorly :P

[Grack21]

Has anyone read Tales of the Otori series by Lian Hearn? I read them a few years ago and really enjoyed them, but I haven't read the second series. I find it similar to ASOIAF in that they both have a strong sense of realism to them.

Whoa wait what? Second series?

[Grack21]

I don't think even Karen Miller structures her sentences this poorly :P

Caffeine is a powerful drug!

[Jojen]

Whoa wait what? Second series?

Sorry. I meant the 4th and 5th books.

[Grack21]

Sorry. I meant the 4th and 5th books.

Oh OK. You scared me I thought I missed something. I remember the 4th books was really good but I don't remember much about the prequel.

[RedEyedGhost]

I guess I should have said this in my last post... I finished Long Reach by Peter Cocks today. Wow, that was a helluva read. It's about a kid whose brother dies as an apparent suicide while working undercover for the cops. Through manipulation by said cops, are unnamed protagonist (he's only referred to as his cover name Eddie Savage), is convinced to follow in his brother's footsteps and work undercover. It's extremely well done as he gets deeper and deeper into his cover life, and struggles with the life he wants to live. Highly recommend for fans of crime fiction.

Caffeine is a powerful drug!

:lol:

I'm hard pressed to think of anything worse.

[Datepalm]

Really? I didn't enjoy it too much. It had potential, but the alternate universe just didn't make enough sense for me. It seemed more like "Ooh, Romans were cool! What if they were still around?!" without enough thought about the implications of that.

Well, its early pages yet, so maybe i'll be disappointed. I'm not that finicky about how sensible alternative histories are, to be honest, both because history isn't really my strongest suit and because i'll forgive a lot for cool imagery that references history without necessarily thinking it through, unless i'm in an utterly nitpicky mood. (Like the iron crosses by London Bridge.) Woe to the author who's made up land use patterns don't make economic sense though.